A/N: tbh if i saw seventeen standing in a group like that at the end of the wedding aisle, i'd be too intimidated to walk down it LMAO

Lynden stared at the ground, scared to look Vernon in the eyes. She was grateful that he had pulled her away from the cafeteria, but she wondered why he had done it. Tsk, she scoffed, obviously because Seungkwan would kill him if he didn't care for her. 

"Hey," Vernon called, "are you alright? I'm sorry I attracted so much attention by sitting with you. I honestly hadn't even thought about the consequences." Lynden finally glanced up at him and muttered a quiet, "it's okay." There was a comfortable silence around them until Lynden spoke up once again. "I think I'll have to get used to the popularity now. It'll take a while, but if I'm gonna be married to you, it won't stay a secret for long." Vernon widened his eyes at her. "A-are you sure? I don't want to force you into this. I know how uncomfortable you are with attention." Lynden felt her heartrate quicken and she nodded. "I don't wanna keep secrets from my friends, and you shouldn't have to either."

Vernon broke into a huge grin. "Alright, let's go tell everyone right now. We can announce it to everyone in the cafeteria. Anyone who isn't in there can just get the news from the friends." Out of excitement, he raced to the door but stopped when he realized he forgot to take Lynden with him. He looked back at her expectantly. Lynden took a deep breath and prepared herself for the upcoming popularity. Vernon took her hand in his and together, they walked back down to the lunchroom.

"Hey!" Vernon yelled once the two arrived, "Lynden and I are getting married!" Lynden gasped. She knew the announcement was coming, but what she didn't expect was a direct statement like that. Honestly, she thought he would mention that it was arranged, so that other girls knew he was still "on the market." Vernon smiled down at her and squeezed her hand as a silent you'll be fine as long as I'm with you.

The students burst into an uproar as they demanded answers; however, the couple went back to sit with Lynden's friends. Vernon's friends ran over to Lynden's lunch table and pulled up chairs as they began to ask questions excitedly.

Lynden became embarrassed at the attention, but she decided they were all going to become friends anyways, so why not get comfortable around them now? Hani, Hyorin, and Tzuyu all began talking to Lynden at once. She quieted them down and told them they would be her bridesmaids. "The wedding is gonna be after this school year ends, so we should all be free by then. I really want you guys to be there to support me. Especially you, Hani. You'll be my maid-of-honor. Hyorin and Tzuyu whined, but after a short while, they went back to talking about how to make the wedding absolutely perfect.

On the other side of the table, Vernon was receiving back pats and thumbs up at being able to marry such a great girl. Having been over to Lynden's house multiple times to meet with Seungkwan, they knew what she was like and they loved the idea of Vernon marrying Lynden. "Hey, Seungkwan. You'll be my best man. That way you can help with the wedding on both sides of the family," Vernon declared. Seungkwan groaned at the idea of extra work to do, but he was excited nonetheless. "Joshua and Dino, you guys will be my other groomsmen. The rest of you can just help set up at the venue and the wedding party." The group cheered. 

It had been 3 weeks since Lynden and Vernon had been informed about their marriage, and Mrs. Jwa decided it was time to go dress shopping. As Lynden walked through the school gates, she spotted her mother's familiar car and ran to it. "Mom! What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. She grew even more shocked when she noticed Mrs. Chwe in passenger seat. Her mother eagerly beckoned her to get in the car while explaining that they were going to go dress shopping. Lynden's jaw dropped. She asked what shop they were going to and when she received an answer, she quickly texted her friends and told them to meet her there.

On the way to the wedding dress boutique, the two mothers took turns telling Lynden what had already been prepared. "We've prepared the rings and chosen the venue and all that complicated stuff, so all you have to do is find a dress and show up! It would also help if you wrote your vows, but just in case, we wrote some too," Mrs. Chwe winked at her. Lynden sighed but smiled anyways. This was all going way too fast for her.

At the boutique, Lynden's friends were all already there. How the hell did they get here before me? We all go to the same school and I even left before them, Lynden wondered. She quickly pushed away the thought and ran up to hug them. "Thank goodness you're all here. I can't do this alone with these two," Lynden exaggerated as she gestured to her mom and soon-to-be mother-in-law. Hani giggled and said, "let's go in, already. I wanna see you in these beautiful dresses!" The group of six entered the shop and were immediately welcomed by the clerks.

After telling them what kind of dress they were looking for, the employees ran off to find the perfect dress. Lynden took a liking to flowy dresses made of chiffon with a detailed bodice. Because Lynden wasn't extremely picky with her dress, it was not long before they had found a dress and purchased it. Everyone in her party seemed to think it suited her as well, and their excitement grew by tenfold. Hani, Tzuyu, and Hyorin were given the freedom to find their bridesmaid dresses as long as the colors were an exact match. Lynden thought it would be good to give them a choice because their body types weren't all the same.

Vernon, on the other hand, had received a text message from his dad saying, "I've added $5,000 to your bank account. Use it to buy you and your friends tuxedos for the wedding." Vernon quickly texted his friends and told them to go to the tuxedo shop down the street. He sighed and wondered, how long will it take for me to find thirteen suits?

The thirteen guys met outside the shop and entered together. They had never known there could be so many different types of suits; nevertheless, they all broke up into smaller groups and searched for their tuxedos. Joshua, Dino, Seungkwan, and Vernon went together, as it was important that they had similar suits. After four hours of screaming from across the shop at each other and quarreling about who looked best, the huge group finished shopping and left for their homes.

Not much had changed since the big announcement was made except for the fact that Lynden's family secret was out. Even more people learned about her wealth and her wedding when her parents and parents-in-law made an official statement for the tabloids. She belonged to a wealthy and well-known family, and now that people knew, everyone wanted to befriend her. She politely declined their offers to have lunch together or have some coffee with them, though. Lynden easily tired of the constant requests and whines of the people who wanted to be friends with her to get to her wealth or to Vernon. When she thought of Vernon, however, she told herself to be strong as to not disappoint him.

One huge change that had surprised Lynden was that Vernon had become more clingy. He would always sit very closely next to her and initiate skinship with her. Lynden was not opposed to skinship, but having known Vernon for so long, she was uncomfortable because he had never acted this way. She often felt her stomach fill with butterflies and her heart flutter when she thought about the possibility of him actually liking her, but that thought was always shoved harshly to the side when she saw Vernon with other girls.

Vernon had become increasingly touchy with Lynden, but that did not stop him from ogling at other girls and making out with them in the hallways. Seungkwan had noticed Lynden's feelings for Vernon growing stronger, so he tried his best to keep her from seeing Vernon do things with other girls. He cared so much about her that he even asked Hani, Hyorin, and Tzuyu to help make Lynden avoid seeing Vernon whenever he was making out with random girls. Not only did Seungkwan earn extra protection for Lynden, but he also managed to get her friends on board with his plan to get the two together.

The first few days were fine, as Lynden's friends surrounded her and distracted her from looking at Vernon, but one day, Hani and Tzuyu were too busy talking to each other, that they forgot to shield her from Vernon. Lynden's footsteps came to a halt when she saw Vernon pushing a girl against the lockers and aggressively starting a game of tongue wrestling with her. Lynden's chest tightened, but she couldn't bring herself to walk away. Realizing the silence, Hani and Tzuyu quickly turned and dragged Lynden away once they saw what she was staring at.

Later that night, Lynden stared up at the ceiling while lying in bed. What is it about me that Vernon can't see me for me? Will I always be like a sister to him? Lynden asked herself. Wait, no. We're getting married. That'd be weird if he saw me as his sibling. Ew. This last thought encouraged her. Lynden was suddenly determined to make Vernon fall for her. By the time we're married, he won't even want to look at other girls. She smirked as she thought of how to go through with "Operation: Seduce and Sustain."

So, chapter 3 is up. What do you guys think?? I have no idea where I'm going with this story, so that's why updates come so slow LOL. 

I'm going on vacation this Sunday until Wednesday, so you can expect no updates until afterwards.

ANYWAYS, SEVENTEEN'S TEASER PICS ARE SO CUTE!!

AHHH I CAN'T WAIT FOR SEUNGKWAN'S (ICE CREAM PIC) TO BE RELEASED.

Okay, thanks for reading!! ILY ♥